Frame Repainting

After 17+ years of dirty salty and wet New England winters much of the pint on my frame has warn away and in its place is surface rust. Later this spring I will be removing said rust and repainting the frame with flat black Rustoleum and a few layers of clear coat. I'm just wondering what the best method for this would be. I will try to remove all the parts I can to paint them as well.

My method was going to be sand and brush off all the rust I can then tape/cover all I don't want black and first coat it with Rustoleum primer then a few coats of flat black and finish with 2-3 coats of clear. Anything else I should do?

Remove as much as you can mechanically (i.e. sand, wire brush, dremel, drill).

Hit it with a chemical to get what you missed, as you can't/won't remove it all, mechanically. (I like Eastwood gel rust dissolver.)

You -could- go to primer next OR you could hit it with Eastwood fast etch -- which is yet another rust dissolver ... but this one leaves behind a protective coating that's also a prepped, paintable surface.

Prime it with several coats -- I like Eastwood's rust converter, as it guarantees you've not painted over rust.

Paint it -- top it with whatever you like. If you plan to keep the vehicle I'd suggest Eastwood's heavy duty anti-rust coating, as it can be had in clear (which is actually more of an amber) or black ... and leaves behind a self-healing, anti-rust film.

If you choose to apply the anti-rust coating then it's good to maintain it every 1-2 years by cleaning under the truck and re-spraying it, since it will wear away (like anything, even you OEM paint). If you've got a pneumatic paint sprayer that's the way to go for your spraying needs, as you get much better volume control (i.e. you'll use less material) than with rattle cans.

I did plan to sand and grind all the rust I could, but I didn't think about the remover. I'll look into that. I don't own a paint gun because my dad doesn't trust them because they jam/clog often. I see you have great dedication to Eastwood products I will check them out I was picking the Rustoleum because it is easy to use and convenient.

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Congrats on making Eagle!!
Another product is POR 15. Because as Surreal said you won't get it all.
I bought a spray gun from Lowe's for around $30. It was a touch up gun but they do sell bigger guns for a little bit more money.

I think a touch up is all I need. I will do a lot using spray cans because I bought the handle and it makes it so much easier to aim and such.

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My thing is I will be doing this work over the coarse of a weekend so I don't have unlimited time to let it dry/cure. It will likely be done memorial day weekend because I'll have an extra day to work. Or it will take two weekends, one doing the rust removal and primer and a second painting the enamel and clear on.

My thing is I will be doing this work over the coarse of a weekend so I don't have unlimited time to let it dry/cure. It will likely be done memorial day weekend because I'll have an extra day to work. Or it will take two weekends, one doing the rust removal and primer and a second painting the enamel and clear on.

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Spanning weekends is a key reason I use fast etch or something like it. It allows me to do mechanical and chemical rust removal on one weekend, lay on fast etch to protect the work, and then simply degrease and paint the surface the second weekend.

You shouldn't need a pile of time -- 10-15 mins between primer coats, allow it to fully cure for a day, then whatever you're putting on top with 10-15 mins between each of those coats. I usually wait only 10-15 mins before I begin clearing, too, if using clear.

I use tractor paint on my frame and suspension components, It has ceramic in it which makes it cure nice plus it's high gloss by nature so you eliminate the seperate clear coating process. I use a synthetic wire wheel to remove all the rust underneath, It creates no sparks and is safer than the conventional method. Summit Racing carries them, $8.99 each for a 6" wheel but I can do the whole underneath with 3.

The kid that bought my 02 silverado pulled the bed off to do the fuel pump. while he had it off he hit the frame with a wire wheel on a 4" grinder. Then he coated the entire frame in POR 15. If you want a cheap spray gun you can buy a cheap one at harbor freight for around $15. I used one for work nearly everyday and never had an issue with it clogging. I agree with @TRPLXL2 , tractor paint works great for a final coat, it is tough and shines like crazy. I have a friend that did his F250 frame with it 4 years ago and it still looks great. (for a Ford)